BEN Thompson hailed the intensity in training ahead of Gary Rowett’s first win in charge against his former club Stoke City.
Millwall defeated the Potters 2-0 at The Den on Saturday with goals from Thompson and Jed Wallace after just two training sessions under the new boss.
Thompson reckoned it would have been extra sweet for Rowett, who was sacked by Stoke last January.
“It’s a great result for him, great result for the team and an all-round good day at The Den,” Thompson said. “The home form has been brilliant, that’s going to continue and hopefully we can get more points on the road now.
“We deserved it. The first half we played some great football, some of the best football I’ve seen us play in a while. I can’t fault it.
“The second half we dropped off a bit more than we should have but at the end of the day we got the three points. It’s massive for the club.
“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind. Ads [Adam Barrett] was brilliant with us and we got some good results with him. The new manager came in and we only had Thursday and Friday for him to get into us how he wants to play.
“It was a tough few days. Thursday and Friday we did a bit more work on the training ground than we normally do. It paid off and we showed how well we can play.
“If you play against your old club you want to win, you want to show them you’ve gone on to bigger and better things, I suppose. For him, personally, it’s a massive result. Any result is massive for us in the Championship, it’s such a tough league, against such a big club like Stoke. To get three points against them is brilliant.”
Thompson faced his old team-mate Lee Gregory, who missed a gilt-edged chance in the second half.
Thompson said: “I get on really well with Greggers, he’s a good friend of mine. He’s a top bloke but it gives me the bragging rights for a while.
“I speak to him quite a lot, over text and things like that. I went to his wedding in the summer. It was nice to see him again.”
Millwall have begun a new era after Neil Harris’ resignation earlier this month left the squad shocked.
“When it first got announced it was crazy, I didn’t know what to do, I’d never experienced anything like that,” Thompson said. “I’d been with him four-and-a-half years. He was brilliant for me, brilliant manager, brilliant guy.
“It was very different coming in one day and he’s not there. We had to get our heads around it but we’ve got a brilliant group. There’s no one who doesn’t want to work. Ads came in and had no issues with players not giving it their all.
“All the boys are first-class, can’t fault them.
“It’s all a learning curve, I’m happy to keep learning and try and get better and better. There’s been a lot of information. Training was intense, sharp. It’s about learning and listening and taking it all in.
“A new manager comes in and you want to impress. It’s going to be intense in training, a few tackles, nothing stupid – it was a good sharp training session. Thursday and Friday were brilliant for us to prepare.”
Image: Millwall FC